Why does my cat only lick treats and not chew his dry food?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Nico. This can be a common behavior in cats. It can be related to dental pain. I recommend checking his mouth for any bad breath, tartar or gingivitis or a broken tooth. This can also happen when a patient is nauseous. Has he recently vomited, been drooling or experienced a lack of appetite? If not, his behavior likely not concerning. Many cats will do this as an extension of grooming. It can be a compulsive habit or just a random behavior the cat will display from time to time. Assess him for the problems that I have mentioned. However, if he is otherwise healthy, then it shouldn't be a problem for him. I hope this information helps!

It’s difficult to tell, but I don’t find it’s particularly common for a cat to suddenly change preferences as an adult and become picky. If your vet is concerned about periodontal disease it might be best to go ahead and schedule a full oral and dental exam under anesthesia if it was recommended- there are many oral and dental problems that just can’t be seen on an unsedated oral exam.

This is a tricky situation. Some cats just have very strong preferences. You can try mixing the wet and dry and slowly fading out the wet over the course of 1-2 weeks. You can also try adding some hot water to the dry food and letting it sit for 10 minutes before offering it to Oliver (I will warn you that not many cats are fooled by this, but worth a try). Another idea is to experiment with different dry foods - he may just not like the one you have. Finally, you may have to wait for him to grow out of this. He's still very young. If none of the ideas above work, use coupons and big box stores to get wet food and keep trying with the dry every 2 weeks. Good luck!

Patty could be licking her dry food to get it moist before eating it because she is having dental problems and it may hurt to eat dry food. These dental problems could be gingivitis, a tooth root abscess, or a broken tooth. I recommend taking Patty into your vet for a health exam. Your vet can check out her mouth and determine if there is a dental problem causing this behavior. If there is a dental issue, she will need a cleaning, scaling, and polishing, plus any broken teeth may need to be removed. I would take her into your vet today or tomorrow. In the meantime, try soaking her food with low sodium beef or chicken broth to see if that helps her eat.

Given the symptoms described, gum inflammation ([gingivitis](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/gingivitis-and-stomatitis)) or other [dental disease](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/dental-disease-1/) may be the underlying cause(s). Both are very common in cats and may cause pain, especially when eating hard/dry food. Any[ treatment](https://www.petcoach.co/article/4-ways-to-treat-dental-disease-in-pets) will depend on the diagnosis but may include a [dental cleaning](https://www.petcoach.co/article/your-pets-dental-cleaning-what-to-expect), extractions, antibiotics, pain management and brushing her teeth at home. Consider a second opinion with a veterinary dentist if necessary. A dental cleaning and extractions (if necessary) will likely resolve the issue. To treat severe gingivitis, the last resort is total teeth extraction, which solves the problem for most cats. [Cats can eat without teeth](https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-things-every-cat-owner-should-know-about-dental-care/) and the appetite may actually increase due to there being no more pain. If your cat eats wet food without any problem, I would probably advise to just keep her on wet food as a full mouth extraction is a major surgical procedure.

You may want to look at his teeth, especially his molars (cheek teeth). Mikkel may have a lot of tartar on his teeth and severe inflammation of his gums which then hurt when he eats dry food. If you see brown concrements on his teeth, then he should be seen by a veterinarian and get his teeth cleaned under anesthesia. There is no need to have a tooth ache, and the bacteria in tartar can actually cause heart and kidney problems.

It is pretty likely that he has a tooth ache, has severe gingivitis or other problems in his mouth that make eating hard dry food difficult, so he will not eat enough to satisfy his hunger. Keep giving him more wet food and schedule an appointment with your vet for a dental exam. Older kitties often have dental problems and eating with a tooth ache is horrible.